1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to the field of telecommunication networks, and more particularly, to service-based prioritization of cells for improving IDLE mode multimedia broadcast multicast services (MBMS) service continuity in telecommunication networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
MBMS is a point-multi point specification for 3GPP cellular networks, which is designed to provide efficient delivery of broadcast and multicast services, both within a cell as well as within the core network. MBMS relies on Single Frequency Network configurations for the purpose of broadcast transmissions, wherein multiple cells, which are time synchronized, transmit the same contents over the same channel.
In the case of heterogeneous networks where a macro-pico structure is used, certain cells under any frequency layer are not configured to provide MBMS services. The network provides a user equipment (UE) connected to the network with information of the MBMS frequencies, the services provided by the frequencies (MBMS capabilities) using broadcast information and so on. Upon receiving this information, the UE prioritizes the frequency that provides the service(s) of interest to the user as the frequency of interest. This frequency of interest shall be used by the UE as the highest priority frequency in IDLE mode for a cell reselection procedure. However, not all cells under the frequency are configured to provide the service(s) of interest to the user. The existing prioritization techniques perform prioritization at the frequency level, and not at the cell level. As a result the UE is unaware of services being offered by each cell under the frequency layer being considered until the UE reselects the cell and reads the broadcast information.
As a result, the UE might end up in cells of the frequency of interest, which do not provide the service(s) the UE intends to receive. Further, the existing reselection rules do not offer any means for the UE to switch to another cell that provides the interested service. As a result, the UE will not be able to access the service, which, in turn, affects the user experience.